Fitchburg driver gets probation in death of pedestrian who yelled at him

Thursday

Mar 13, 2014 at 5:44 PMMar 13, 2014 at 11:17 PM

By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — A tearful Glenn E. Lowell Sr. was placed on probation for 5 years Thursday after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of 51-year-old Gregory S. Spyropoulos following a 2012 altercation between the two men in Fitchburg.

Mr. Lowell, 52, of 32 Gage Road, Fitchburg, must complete an anger management course as one of the conditions of probation imposed by Judge James R. Lemire after the defendant entered his guilty plea Thursday afternoon in Worcester Superior Court.

The sentence imposed by the judge was recommended by Assistant District Attorney Kassia Smith and Mr. Lowell's lawyer, Kristen J. Patria.

Ms. Smith told the court that Mr. Spyropoulos was crossing Cleghorn Street in Fitchburg on the night of June 17, 2012, when Mr. Lowell drove by and Mr. Spyropoulos yelled at him to slow down. Mr. Lowell pulled over, got out of his car, confronted Mr. Spyropoulos and struck him in the face, according to the prosecutor.

Mr. Spyropoulos, who lived at 80 Princeton St. in Fitchburg, fell to the ground and Mr. Lowell got back in his car and drove off, Ms. Smith said.

Police and emergency medical personnel found Mr. Spyropoulos at Cleghorn and Daniels streets, bleeding from a head wound. He was taken to Leominster Hospital and later transferred to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus in Worcester, where he died three days later.

Ms. Smith said an autopsy determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma of the head causing a skull fracture and brain injury.

Mr. Lowell turned himself in to police on June 20, 2012, saying he was the driver involved in the altercation. He told investigators he and Mr. Spyropoulos were yelling at each other when Mr. Spyropoulos suddenly punched and shoved him. He said he struck Mr. Spyropoulos once in the face and drove away.

A charge of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury was dismissed as part of the plea agreement in the case.

Ms. Smith told Judge Lemire that the victim's family was in agreement with the lawyers' sentencing recommendation. While family members were still angry and sad over the loss of their loved one, they were also gracious and kind, and understood that Mr. Lowell did not set out to kill anyone on the night in question, the prosecutor said..

"The family hopes that he can learn from this," Ms. Smith said. "They understand that nothing will bring their loved one back."

In addition to the anger management requirement, Mr. Lowell was ordered to attend a head injury program and perform 100 hours of community service.

Ms. Smith said it was Mr. Spyropoulos' family's hope that Mr. Lowell could speak to others about impulse control as part of his community service.

"We will never forget what you've done to our family, what you took in anger," Mr. Spyropoulos' sister, Charlene Schwint, said in an impact statement she read in court.

Recalling her brother's "infectious laughter" and "great sense of humor," she said her youngest sibling would be "very much missed."

Mr. Patria described his client as a hard-working man who was delivering food for a Chinese restaurant on the night of the confrontation with Mr. Spyropoulos.

"He is sorry. He is regretful. He knows there's nothing he can say. He knows he's going to have to deal with this for the rest of his life," Mr. Patria told the judge.

Judge Lemire praised the victim's family for their compassion and generosity and said he would go along with the sentencing recommendation to spare them "the emotional trauma of a trial,"

The judge also advised Mr. Lowell that a violation of his probation on the manslaughter charge could result in the imposition of a state prison sentence of up to 20 years.